Coast Guard Clears Norway

Cruise From Miami Starts Today

MIAMI — The cruise ship Norway is set to sail from the Port of Miami today, five days after sending 2,000 passengers home after a failed Coast Guard inspection.

Norwegian Cruise Line announced Saturday that the Norway's seven-day eastern Caribbean cruise would leave at 4 p.m. today as scheduled, after a weeklong welding effort to fix a faulty fire-sprinkler system.

"Clearly we're pleased to have completed the examination by the Coast Guard, to our complete satisfaction and their satisfaction," said Andy Stuart, the Miami-based company's senior vice president for marketing and sales.

The Coast Guard issued its Annual Control Verification Letter to Norwegian Cruise Line late Friday night, five days after taking the unusual step of rescinding the letter, leaving the Norway unable to legally leave port. The Coast Guard found that temporary patches on 106 areas of sprinkler pipe on the 978-foot Norway did not meet safety standards.

"Now that the letter has been issued, the Norway is permitted to resume the carrying of passengers," U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Danielle DeMarino said in a statement.

The annual Coast Guard inspection included drilling the ship's crew on firefighting and boat-lowering.

Friday and Saturday's events ended a public relations nightmare for Norwegian Cruise Line and its 2,032-passenger ship, which had to cancel its cruise Monday night when it realized it could not make the required repairs quickly.

The company issued refunds and vouchers for another cruise to the passengers, most of whom spent two days on the ship in port.

Today's cruise will visit St. John, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Norwegian's private island in the Bahamas, Stuart said.

Norwegian Cruise Line had stopped the leaks in the sprinkler pipe with rubber patches held by steel clamps, a temporary measure before the Norway entered dry dock for repairs in September, Stuart said. The Coast Guard had said those patches could melt in a fire.

The Norway is to move to a new berth in Asia in September.

Jeff Shields can be reached at jshields@sun-sentinel.com or 954-385-7921